The Regressor Is a Cloud (5)
The Regressor Is a Cloud (5)
I'll be honest.
I seriously underestimated how hard it is to dodge arrows. I admit it.
First, I don't have much actual combat experience. So dodging arrows didn't come naturally to me.
What do I mean? Looking back, every fight I've been in ended in one exchange. Since I regress if I so much as get scratched, I deliberately avoided fights where we traded blows. I only picked engagements I could finish in a single hit.
The only opponents I've had anything resembling a brawl with were the scrawny goblins. The Mutant Goblin, the Telekinetic Punk, the Tutorial's Minotaur, even the City Master on Floor 2—all of them went down in one exchange. It sounds ridiculous, but I haven't been using my body to its full potential.
And at the peak of my foolishness, I started all this with a "how hard can it be?" attitude... and the result was a stark reminder of just what a scrub I really am.
I managed to dodge the first part of the corridor thanks to my physical capabilities, but the real trouble started once I hit the middle section.
Front, back, left, right. Above and below. Arrows flew from everywhere with almost zero telegraphing. Flames—magic or something—erupted from the walls, disorienting my vision.
"Urgh!"
In that split second, my superhuman body sensed where the arrows were coming from, but my feet got tangled trying to move.
Gravity crushed my ankle, bending a ligament in a direction it was never meant to go...
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
Regresses.
***
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
Regresses again.
***
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
Regresses. Again.
***
"Fuck, fuck, fuck..."
The problem wasn't just my body.
Honestly, I was making progress through the corridor. With each repeated regression, I pushed forward further.
Even if the arrow patterns were ridiculously hard to dodge, as long as I knew they were coming, I could manage somehow. I could break through—albeit sloppily—by throwing a shield onto the floor in advance or double-layering my leather armor.
"...Are you okay?"
"No."
The real problem was this part: walking through the cave.
If all I had to do was repeat the traps, I'd probably be in a decent state. The real issue was the time it took just to get to the arrow traps.
Waking up in the cave, greeting the others, picking up a weapon, walking the path, finishing the prep work, successfully hunting the wolves, convincing everyone to prepare for the Mirror Maze, clearing the Mirror Maze—only after all that could I finally reach the arrow traps.
I didn't have a watch, so I don't know exactly how much time passed, but it was at least three hours, easy. Every single regression, I had to repeat three hours' worth of actions.
I think I've regressed about ten times by now, meaning I've been stuck repeating the same tasks for over thirty hours. My sanity was draining fast.
Still, I was okay for the time being. I could feel my movements improving, and I was taking one step after another. I could cling to that small sense of accomplishment and endure the next three hours.
It's fine. I'm doing well.
**
I regressed 20 times.
I was starting to understand the rules of this trap corridor.
First, the traps activate when you step on the floor. And once you've stepped on a spot, it's safe.
The traps also got more intricate the further I advanced.
At first it was just arrows, but soon it started spewing flames, and just now it fired off thin needles. The corridor was too dark to see them, so dodging was impossible. Fucking unreasonable.
But I was still moving forward. I can do this.
**
About 40 regressions.
I started desperately missing the Flash Step I used on Floor 2.
I could still vividly remember the sensation of Baron Licht controlling my mana back then, but I couldn't replicate it. It felt like an itch I couldn't scratch—a constant, irritating failure. If I'd known, I would have sat down and properly learned how to manipulate mana.
If I could just *zoom* through with Flash Step, I wouldn't have to deal with this bullshit.
I think I was nearing the end of the middle section now. Just now, the floor suddenly flipped over and stabbed me with sharp spikes. It was so damn unfair, but with no one to vent to, I just screamed like a madman the moment I regressed.
Kang Chan stared at me with utter contempt.
**
...70? 80? I can't really remember. Anyway, I regressed a lot.
This cycle, I tried to just lie down on the floor and rest, but Ahn Gyeong-jun nagged me so much I had no choice but to get up.
"...Hey."
"...Me?"
"You try this."
Maybe it was because Ahn Gyeong-jun had been getting on my nerves.
With my brain slightly fried, I decided to shove Ahn Gyeong-jun into the trap.
"..."
The moment Ahn Gyeong-jun—possessed and empowered by Kang Chan's killing intent—stepped into the corridor, arrows flew from all sides.
"...!"
He breezed through the early part of the corridor thanks to the spirit's reflective mirror ability, but as the number of arrows increased and their timing became erratic, even the possessed Ahn Gyeong-jun couldn't keep up.
"...Hmm."
Amid the torrential downpour of arrows, the possessed Ahn Gyeong-jun blocked what he could and dodged the rest. Still, shallow wounds littered his body.
"...Poison."
The credibility of a guy with a wooden spear declaring "Poison" with such conviction was strangely high.
"Not a lethal kind. A paralytic. But it's accumulative."
"..."
I see. Now I understood the intent behind this trap corridor.
The arrowheads were blunter than I thought. Getting hit directly would injure you, but it wouldn't kill you.
The bastard who designed this probably wanted us to take turns clearing it. They wanted us to switch out and push through before the poison built up too much.
"Ugh, ah... it's tingling..."
The second his possession wore off, Ahn Gyeong-jun made a huge fuss, rubbing his arm furiously.
"...Gyeong-jun."
"...Yes?"
"I'll be counting on you."
I could definitely use Ahn Gyeong-jun's help tackling the later part of the corridor. That was a huge gain.
**
Over 100 regressions. I stopped counting after that.
"Heh, hehe..."
I dashed through the corridor with my eyes closed.
I'd reached the point where I could dodge the early and middle traps blindfolded. I'd spent those three hours walking the cave path purely on mental training, so the arrow trajectories were vivid even with my eyes shut.
Arrows, flames, poison needles, spikes, shuriken, sudden pitfalls—the full array of traps was no longer my match. The later section where it spat out countless needles was terribly tricky... but I just passed that job off to Ahn Gyeong-jun. Watching him spin his spear in circles to use as a shield was a sight to behold.
Step. Step. Step.
Footsteps taken with absolute conviction.
A rain of arrows poured from all sides, and my body rotated smoothly.
The baptism of arrows was closer to a solid plane than a line of fire, but in the end, not a single one touched me.
It was the result of proper posture, proper movement, and proper power distribution.
"..."
No more arrows came.
A smile crept onto my lips as I took a step forward.
I didn't hear the familiar *click* of the mechanism.
"...Ah."
The floor had changed color. It wasn't the smooth stone surface of the trap corridor, but the damp, slimy cave floor.
The trap corridor was over.
"...I actually pulled it off."
I looked down at my left hand and shook my head.
After countless attempts, I'd gained a complete understanding of my body. I'd filled the void of real evasion experience to my heart's content.
Now, the insurance of Regression had the spicy kick of remarkable body control added to it. If I could just get attack power on Kang Chan's level... I'd be completely invincible.
"Heh, hehehe..."
I laughed manfully, spinning around to face the other party members.
"..."
"What in the..."
"...This makes no sense."
Kang Chan: his face expressionless, but his trembling eyes failed to hide his bewilderment. Dok Su-hee: wide-eyed and horrified. Even Ahn Gyeong-jun had his hands clamped over his mouth.
From their perspective, I must have looked like some ridiculous overpowered character. All those projectiles pouring from everywhere, yet I dodged them with light footwork and advanced without fear.
Underneath all that were hundreds of hours of my own efforts and the excellent physical abilities from my Achievement Level... but there was no need to explain that.
"Alright, now just step where I stepped and cross over."
With a smile, I encouraged the others to come across.
"..."
"..."
But they didn't move, just staring blankly at my face.
"...What's wrong?"
"How... how do we remember where you stepped, Jun-ho?"
"...Ah."
[You have taken damage.]
[Regressing to the moment you first entered Floor 3-5.]
***
After a little comedy of smearing the soles of my leather boots with wolf blood to mark where I'd stepped, the four of us successfully cleared the arrow traps. Ahn Gyeong-jun sustained a minor injury while defending against the needles, but it was nothing serious.
We cleared the arrow corridor without Kang Chan's fists.
My efforts had finally paid off.
"Wow, you're really amazing... Look at these needles... some kind of liquid is dripping off them..."
"I-I thought I was watching a movie..."
Dok Su-hee and Ahn Gyeong-jun showered me with praise. It wasn't empty flattery, but genuine admiration from the heart.
"..."
But for some reason, I didn't feel very happy.
Strangely, it left a bad taste in my mouth.